By LETTERS TO THE EDITORLetters(photo credit: REUTERS)‘Zionist values’With regard to “Shaked: We want to revolutionize our legal perception of Judea and Samaria” (September 10), is it one of Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked’s much-touted “Zionist values” to retrospectively legalize the criminal theft of land?RAYMOND CANNONNetanyaListen up, BennettAll credit to Zvi Peleg for his timely and excellent “The startup nation needs start-up education” (Comment & Features, September 10). He points out: “In almost any successful institution, it is customary to first formulate a vision, then set goals and indices, and finally allocate a budget accordingly.”In my opinion, and based on many years as an educator in England, the writer has given us a viable and sensible vision toward the first step in improving the efficiency of Israeli school education. Who is there who will take up and develop his many and much-needed suggestions? There is a well known Jewish saying: “From your mouth to God’s ears.” In this case, it should be “From Zvi Peleg’s article to the ears of the education minister.”MERVYN LEVITONNetanya
The writer is a retired head teacher of the Rosh Pinah Primary School in Edgware, UK.In light of MunichGil Troy’s “Munich massacre: ‘The-Games-Will-Go-Onism’ inflamed Palestinian Nazism” (Center Field, September 6) evoked deep-seated memories for me.I attended the 1972 Olympics in Germany and was excited to see Lasse Viren run. I saw Mary Peters, from my then-home country, the UK, obtaining Gold in the pentathlon. Above all, I felt a deep sense of pride in seeing a Jewish athlete, swimmer Mark Spitz, beat all in a Germany where less than 30 years previously we Jews had suffered our darkest times.However, none of the above prepared me as I made my way to my car from the Olympic stadium to catch my plane home. I witnessed a major commotion of police and soldiers running toward the athletes’ village but was unaware what was happening until I viewed it on the airport’s TV screens while waiting for my flight.What amazed me – perhaps naively – was that there was no consideration to abandon the games after such a heinous, murderous act, only a short delay and a little hand-wringing with a message that the Olympian ideals must carry on. Since then, at every subsequent Games, there has been scant recognition of that very dark day.The Israeli response to this cold-blooded act of terror was the only possible one – the targeting of those who sent the murderers – to show that this nation-state will not tolerate such crimes amidst the world’s apathy. How apt this is now that terror is reaching many other shores.STEPHEN VISHNICKTel AvivWith regard to “From the Olympic village to global jihad” (My Word, September 8), Liat Collins is always one of my first reads when I get the Friday Jerusalem Post. Her comments are always so relevant, but this time she hit a personal note.I, too, decided to make aliya after the Munich massacre.Born and brought up in England, to where my parents had escaped from Czechoslovakia in 1939, I never experienced antisemitism, yet I knew I had to be in Israel. This decision changed my life, and in 1973, we came to Israel.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated on many occasions that terror is terror, wherever it may be, and we expect the world to condemn terror in Israel just as it condemns terror elsewhere. President Reuven Rivlin reiterated that terror must be condemned unequivocally everywhere. But unfortunately, they do not practice what they preach.Last January 3, our son, Guy, was shot dead by a homegrown Arab terrorist as he was walking in a Haifa street. His murder fell under the radar.None of our MKs or ministers, Left or Right, had any words to say. None came to the funeral.None came to the Shiva. None came to the memorial.I wrote to Haifa-born Education Minister Naftali Bennett, asking if he could say a few words at the memorial. I received a reply: “Hoping you have a good day. The minister will get back to you shortly.”That was over eight months ago. Likewise, President Rivlin’s secretary – who, after getting over the shock as to how I managed to find her number – did reply, saying the president was going abroad but I would be invited to the residence when he got back. I do not need such a visit, but some reaction would have been in place.No Muslim community leader felt the necessity to apologize or come to us either.We received a printed letter from Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav.The mayor of Nesher, where Guy lived, did visit us, as did the head of the Hof Hacarmel Regional Council, where we live.All I can say is hypocrisy rules the waves. Perhaps no one is willing to admit that Haifa is no longer the coexistence exemplar we pretend it is. If nothing is done, we can only expect worse, as whole generations of Haifa Arabs grow up in an atmosphere of hatred.Meanwhile, Guy, an honest, hard-working citizen who served his country in both Lebanon and Gaza, and brought joy to the disabled children he drove and cared about so dearly, received no respect from our elected representatives. He surely deserved better.BERTHA CAFREYOferPriorities to rethinkI am incensed at your callous disregard for the feelings of our loyal citizens and bereaved parents, specifically the families of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, with your September 7 lead headline “Hamas chief to ‘Post’: We’re ready for long-term cease-fire.” How ironic! Your reporter allows this terrorist leader to spout his lies in a long, wordy, main-page article without even challenging him on any of the war crimes Hamas commits. Is this what we read The Jerusalem Post for? A mouthpiece for Hamas? You need to rethink your priorities.Shame on you.JENNIFER LEVINERa’ananaRabbi, take noteNo doubt many of your readers, like myself, disagree unreservedly with Rabbi Shlomo Amar (“J’lem chief rabbi: Reform Jews deny more than Holocaust deniers,” September 7).On the one hand, Holocaust deniers basically say that no Jews, or very few, were murdered by the Nazis. Rabbi Amar says Reform Jews deny the truth of the Torah, the corollary being that they must also deny that there was a revelation by God who, through His servant, Moses, gave the Torah to the Israelites at Sinai. This is not the case.When the first chief rabbi of Israel, Abraham Isaac Kook, landed in Jaffa and saw Jews desecrating Shabbat, he is reported to have said: “Ah! Rambam’s Yidden!” He was referring to the Jews who, according to Maimonides, had wandered from the straight and narrow, presenting an opportunity to perfect the world by encouraging them to return to their roots.Rabbi Amar, by projecting his unconstructive thoughts, is unwittingly contributing to the vilification aimed at Israel by many nations, for those nations, according to the Kabbala, only mirror the behavior of Israel.The rabbi should take note and remember that it was baseless hatred that was the main cause of Israel’s destruction centuries ago, while love will see Israel prosper.LEONARD E. BOOK Ashkelon The writer is a rabbi.
